Questions Tag in English Grammar : Definitions and Examples of Tag Q...

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TAG QUESTIONS
Grammar In English
A tag question is type of question form which is added to a statement to invite the listeners attention
to the statement. The subject of the question tag is never a noun: it is always a pronoun.

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a) He is clever, isnt he?
(e.g)
b) You are not sure, are you?

In the above sentences, forms like isnt he and are you are not actually questions; there is only an

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expectation of agreement.

Remember the following points:-

i. Affirmative statements take negative tags and negative statements take affirmative tags.
a) It is unbelievable, Isnt it?
(e.g)
b) She did not see me yesterday, did she?

ii. As tags are mainly used in conversation, the shortened nt form is used; isnt he for is he
not? didnt he? for did he not etc.

iii. The subject of the tag is a pronoun and it is a substitute for the subject of the statement.
(e.g)

You know her address, dont you?

iv. The pronoun in the tag agrees in number, gender, and person with the subject of the
statement.

v. The appropriate form of be is used.

a) He was not there, was he?
(e.g)

b) You are a liar, arent you?

c) They were not active, were they?

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When the verb in the affirmative statement is am the form aint I? or am not I/ is not used.
Instead, arent I? is used. When the verb in the negative statement is amnot am I? is used.

a) I am a doctor, arent I? (Not arnt I) But

(e.g)
b) I am not a doctor, am I?

vi. In the case of linking verbs other than be the appropriate form of do in the statement is
repeated: the appropriate form of model auxiliary is repeated, if the verb has a model
auxiliary.
a) Sugar dissolves in water, doesnt it?
b) He became the secretary, didnt he?
(e.g)
c) He didnt speak the truth, did he?
e) He will not come now, will he?

SOME RULES TO BE FOLLOWED WHILE MAKING QUESTION TAGS.

1. A negative tag is added to an affirmative statement while an affirmative tag is added to a negative
statement.
It may be noted that it is not only the negative verb that forms a negative sentence. It is rather the
essence or idea of the sentence. The negative idea may be conveyed by the following always. So it
takes an affirmative tag.

i. A negative subject:a) None of the clothes were washed, were they?

(e.g)
b) None of the food was wasted, was it?

ii. A negative object:a) We saw none in the room, did we?

(e.g)
b) We saw no-one we knew, did we?

iii. A negative complement:(e.g)

A petty loss like that is nothing, is it?

iv. A negative adverb:

(e.g)

Morality is found nowhere these days, is it?

v. A semi-negative word like few, hardly, little, rarely, scarcely, seldom.

a) Few students attended the lecture, did they?
(e.g)

b) There is hardly any flower on the tree, is there?

c) Little progress has been made in the project, has it?

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d) Rarely does she visit a temple, does she?

e) He is scarcely aware of the tragedy, is he?
f) They seldom see each other now-a-days, do they?

2. A positive idea - a negative tag:

A few and a little convey a positive idea. A negative is added to them.
a) A few boys went for the picinic, didnt they?
(e.g)
b) A little effort has been made to solve this problem, hasnt it?

3. Although the adverb only has a positive approach too and may take even a negative tag, it is
generally considered on the negative side and usually takes a positive tag.

(e.g)

There were only two horses left in the stable, were there?

4. In the imperative sentences:

i. If they are simple requests, they usually take will you? Both the positive and the negative
requests take Will you? irrespective of the verb.
a) Give me a glass of water, will you please?
(e.g)
b) Dont keep me waiting so long, will you?

ii. If they are invitations or suggestions, they may also take will you?
(e.g)

Please have lunch with me tomorrow, will you?

iii. If the imperative expresses urgency, use wont you?

(e.g)

Becareful when you open the soda, wont you?

iv. A suggestion that uses let us takes shall we? in the tag.
a) Lets go out for a walk, shall we?
(e.g)
b) Lets wait till we get confirmation of this rumour, shall we?

v. If the imperative expresses the idea of impatience, it takes cannot you? in the tag.
(e.g)

Use your common sense, cant you?

vi. Although some one, somebody, everybody, everyone, Neither, nobody, are singular. For
the purpose of the tag they are usually treated as plural, and take plural tags.
a) Every one of these workers is a trained technician, dont they?
(e.g)

b) Every body voted against him, didnt they?

c) Neither of my sisters spoke the truth did they?

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d) Somebody went and warned him, didnt they?

e) Nobody came to the class did they?
f) Someone had identified the purse, hadnt they?

vii. None of, followed by a plural noun, is treated as a plural, and takes they as the subject of
the tag.
(e.g)

None of the boys passed in the examination, didnt they?

viii. None of us has we as the subject of the tag.

(e.g)

None of us committed this crime, did we?

ix. Some of us takes we if the speaker includes himself in the number, but they if he does
not.
a) Some of us got admission to the medical college, didnt we?
(e.g)
b) Some of us lost the way, didnt they?

x. Some of you takes you in the tag.

(e.g)

Some of your are practising tennis, arent you?

xi. If the verb have has not been used either in the sense of possession or as a part of perfect
structure the question tag takes do or did as auxiliary. Used to also takes did.
a) We have lunch at one, dont we?
(e.g)
b) They used to sing at twelve in the night, didnt they?

1. The auxiliaries used in the statement are repeated in the tag with the subject according to
their tense.

(i) In the present and past simple tense, do, does, or did are added in the tag.

You want to read this book, dont you?

(e.g)

He loves you, doesnt he?

Raj began the quarrel, didnt he?

In a sentence with compound verb only the first auxiliary is used in the tag.

(e.g)

He has stolen the watch, hasnt he?

xii. Need and dare are rarely used in affirmative statements, if they are used, they are treated
as ordinary verbs and the tags are formed with do or does
(e.g)

We need to stick to our old conventious, dont we?

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The following list, in the present tense, would be helpful to the students. The same approach applies
to other tenses too.

POSITIVE STATEMENTS:

to be
have
(possession)
simple
(indefinite)

She is in her sixties, isnt she?

They have a big house, havent they?

Diana works hard, doesnt she?

continuous

He is leaving for London tomorrow, isnt he?

perfect

The guests have all left, havent they?

Perfect
continuous
auxiliary
verb

She has been typing the documents for five hours hasnt she?

We can this work withing five minutes, cant we?

NEGATIVE STATEMENTS:

to be
have
(possession)

They are not here, are they?

She hasnt big house, has she?

simple

They do not waste their time, do they?

perfect

Mohan hasnt taken interest in this matter, has he?

perfect
continuous

We have not been working since monday, have we?

MODEL AUXILIARY VERB

i. We must not be late, must we?

ii. You should not drive so fast, should you?

If a personal pronoun is the subject of the statement, the same pronoun is repeated in the question
tag.

So is the dummy subject there. But: if a noun or any pronoun other than a personal one subject of
the statement, the tag has he, she it or they. The generalising personal pronoun one in the
statement must be followed by one in the tag, not by he, they or you.

(e.g)

One cant be faithful to all, can one? (not can he?)

Quote: Work is the price you pay for money.

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